1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the repair of fractured bones. More particularly, the present invention is related to articular bones. More particularly, the present invention the related to mixtures of glue used to repair a fractured articular bone.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Bone fractures occur when a bone is cracked or broken. Fractures often occur when a bone is subject to a great force of impact or stress. Fractures can occur in any bone of the human body, including the articular, or joint, bones.
When repairing a bone fracture, it is common to first realign the bone at the fracture site. Various techniques are used to realign the bone. For example, metal rods or plates can be used to keep the bones in alignment. The metal rods and plates are usually affixed to the bone with screws. Another technique involves aligning the two parts of the fractured bone with an expandable balloon. The fractured parts of the bone are aligned with the expandable balloon, and devices, such as clamps, are compressed around the fracture so as to close the fracture site. Sometimes bone cement is used when using an expandable balloon and clamps so as to fill voids in the fracture site and add strength to the bone. Bone cement is typically used to hold implants in a fractured bone. The bone cement sets-up so as to hold implants in the bone.
However, the cement is inadequate for repairing articular bone fractures because it is not an adhesive. Bone cement is somewhat of a misnomer. The word “cement” typically describes a substance that adheres things together. Bone cement, however, is actually a grout-like material. Bone cement acts as a space-filler so as to fill the voids in the bone where implants are placed. Thus, bone cement is highly inadequate for repairing a fracture in an articular bone. Thus, there is a need for a method for repairing articular bone that utilizes a bone glue that is adequate for repairing the fracture.
Various patents have issued relating to the repair of fractured bones. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,310, issued on Aug. 19, 1997 to Berger, discloses a method and apparatus for forming an internal fixation of fractures of tubular bones using a balloon catheter fixation device which is guided and transported through the medullary canal and fracture site of the bone by guide wires mounted in the balloon catheter fixation device. A bone cement is applied to the fracture site. The bone catheter is inflated inside the bone and tightened by applying pressure on the catheter outside of the bone. The catheter tube is tightened and held in the same place in an inflated condition so as to apply a compression force across the fracture site enhancing the stability of the fractured bone and promoting osseous healing.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0010297, published on Jan. 13, 2005 to Watson et al., discloses a medical device containing an inflatable balloon structure for use in minimally invasive surgery and minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The device is delivered by a catheter and expanded by using gases, liquids or liquids that solidify in situ. The inflatable balloon may be constructed from a wide variety of materials and may be reinforced by supporting structures. The device may form an endoprosthesis in a patient. The device may be used in combination with bone graft materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,434, issued on Feb. 2, 1982 to Segal, discloses a method for fixation of a long bone including the steps of drilling a small opening into the medullary cavity, inserting a deflated flexible bladder into the medullary cavity through the opening, inflating the bladder with sterile air through an opening accessible outside the bone, sealing the opening, unsealing the opening after the fracture has healed, removing the bladder and then filling the opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,456, issued on Aug. 28, 2001 to Scribner, et al., discloses a method for treating a bone that employs a tool having an outer catheter tube having a distal end and an inner catheter tube extending within the outer catheter tube that has a distal end region that extends beyond the distal end of the outer catheter tube. The tool includes an expandable structure having a proximal end secured to the distal end of the outer catheter tube and a distal end secured to the distal end region of the inner catheter tube. Thus, the distal end region of the inner catheter tube is enclosed within the expandable structure. The method manipulates the tool to introduce the expandable structure into a bone while in a generally collapsed geometry. The method causes the expandable structure to assume an expanded geometry inside the bone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,452, issued Oct. 31, 2000 to Felt et al. discloses a method, composition, and apparatus for repairing a tissue site. The method involves the use of a curable polyurethane biomaterial composition adapted for mixing at the time of use in order to provide a flowable composition and to initiate cure. The flowable composition can be delivered in a minimally invasive manner to a tissue site. The composition fully cures to provide a permanent and biocompatible prothesesis for repair of the tissue site. A mold apparatus has a balloon or tubular cavity that receives a biomaterial composition. The method includes the steps of delivering and filling the mold apparatus with a curable composition in situ to provide a prostheses for tissue repair.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for repairing articular bones.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for repairing articular bones that adheres the fractured portions together.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an articular bone repair method that properly aligns the fractured portions of the bone.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for repairing fractured articular bones that minimizes the number of steps in the procedure.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for repairing articular bones that minimizes the healing time of the fractured bone.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for repairing articular bones that can be applied to any joint of the human body.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.